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Illinois High Impact Business (HIB) Designation
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)See programDeadline: Rolling; application through DCEO. Designation typically takes 60–90 days from complete application.
Illinois state tax incentive designation under 35 ILCS 5/220-1 for major capital investment projects. Provides bundle of sales tax, utility tax, and investment tax credit benefits over the life of the designated facility. Often combined with federal/local incentive stack for headquarter relocations, large manufacturing facilities, data centers, and major industrial expansions.
Program details
- Agency
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
- Level
- State
- Category
- State Tax Incentive
- Eligibility
- Manufacturing: $12M minimum capital investment AND either 500 retained or 75 new full-time jobs. Service/non-manufacturing: alternative thresholds (consult DCEO). Project must be located outside an existing Enterprise Zone (HIB and EZ designations mutually exclusive at the same site). Must be commercially competitive with alternatives in other states.
- Funding Amount
- Bundle of tax incentives: (a) Investment tax credit (0.5% of qualified investment); (b) Sales tax exemption on building materials; (c) Sales tax exemption on machinery and equipment; (d) Utility tax exemption (Telecommunications Excise Tax, Electricity Excise Tax, Natural Gas Use Tax) for HIB facility. Combined annual value typically $200K–$2M+ depending on project scale.
- Deadline
- Rolling; application through DCEO. Designation typically takes 60–90 days from complete application.
- Status
- open
- Geographic Scope
- Illinois only
- Project Types
- economic_development, manufacturing, commercial, data_center
- Client Types
- commercial
- Notes
- For evlv.energy clients: surface for major industrial / manufacturing / data center projects. HIB sales tax exemption on building materials is particularly valuable for energy-related capital projects (solar arrays, battery systems, EV infrastructure). Stack with: federal OZ if applicable tract, federal §48E ITC for renewables, MACRS depreciation, Cook County 6b for industrial classification. CANNOT stack with Enterprise Zone at same project site.
Source: Grantya research. Confirm current terms with the administering agency before applying.